We have TWO heavy hitters this week! My first guest is Steven F. Hotze, MD, the founder and CEO of the Hotze Health & Wellness Center, Hotze Vitamins and Hotze Pharmacy. Hypothyroidism, Health & Happiness: The Riddle of Illness Revealed; and Hormones, Health, and Happiness: A Natural Medical Formula for Rediscovering Youth with Bioidentical Hormones. The topic Saturday will be the importance of and mysteries surrounding the thyroid gland. This will be a good time to ask your thyroid-related questions.

We are also excited to talk with Michael Greger, MD about his new book with the subtle title How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease. Dr. Greger is known for his website NutritionFacts.org. (My guess is that he will not make a case for a diet of McRib sandwiches and toaster pastries.)

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Heartburn drugs are in the news because of recent research:

• As I have been predicting for years (e.g. in my first book), the proton pump inhibitors such as Nexium damage our friendly bacteria. Now research has shown that is true. In February when we begin discussing my new book on probiotics, I hope I am able help folks understand how critical these microbes are to every aspect of our health.

• Previous radio guest Richard Snyder, DO is the author of What You Must Know About Kidney Disease: A Practical Guide to Using Conventional and Complementary Treatments. Long ago he connected the use of these heartburn drugs to kidney damage and kept a copy of my book in his office waiting room. Now research confirms his observation.

Based on the huge amounts of money being spent on TV commercials for Nexium, Zantac and the like, heartburn and acid reflux are still really big business. In my book, Natural Alternatives to Nexium, I discuss the serious dangers from using those drugs for more than a couple of weeks a couple of times a year. The book also covers the root causes of the discomfort and fixes for the basic conditions. I’ve been told it is a useful digestion manual and perhaps that is why I’m happy to say it has become a national best seller.

If you know people with heartburn, GERD, acid reflux or Barrett’s esophagitis, please direct them to my new videos on the subject. (They are free at this point.) Although the book has a lot of useful detail, a person might get enough information from these little video classes to solve his or her problem. At the very least it should alert viewers to the danger of depending on acid-blocking drugs.

Incidentally, as shown in the photo, at the first sign of heartburn a sip of water might help to rinse the acid off tender tissues. However, larger amounts of water may delay stomach emptying.

• In conjunction with their addition of The Vitality Life Center‘s exciting detoxification, beauty, fitness and wellness services, HealthWorksMart is extending its store hours. M-F: 10:00AM to 7:00PM and Saturday: 10:00AM to 6:00PM.

• SAVE THE DATE. Saturday May 7!, Spring Natural HealthFest will be in RICHARDSON, TX.

LISTEN to that show in the archives.

A University of Florida study has found that stress not only causes a desire to eat, but that extra fat can keep the body’s stress response from shutting off. We discussed what to do about that with Lisa Lewtan, author of Busy, Stressed and Food Obsessed. Lisa is a Healthy Living Strategist and founder of Healthy, Happy, and Hip, which provides one-on-one coaching, workshops, retreats, and support groups for clients. We talked about comfort eating, cravings and the like.